A Successful ISAN 2008 in Nhulunbuy

As the afternoon storms rolled in on Sunday here in Nhulunbuy I was able reflect back on a very successful International Sidewalk Astronomy Night 2008 (ISAN 2008) held on the previous evening of Saturday the 12th April
We had 3 telescopes there for the night,an 8 and 10 inch Dobsonian Mounted reflectors, plus an LX-90 Computerized tracking telescope. Manned by myself, Bruce & Notch.
The Dobsonian Telescope takes its name from the inventor of this type of telescope, the vererable John Dobson, who is also the founder of the ISAN !
We had probably 50 or 60 people stop for a look, many of whom had never looked through a telescope before. The Wow's and Wakara's (Yolngu for WOW)escaped the lips of many a viewer as they had their first look at Saturn through a telescope.
That fact alone made the night a great success.
An Announcement was even made over the PA at the Arnhem club, bringing quite a few more people out for a look.

We were in a location that we would never normally consider for an observing night, the most brightly lit street corner in town opposite the Arnhem Club.
The benefit was, it is also the busiest spot in town for people walking around.
Targets for the night were: The Moon, Mars, Saturn, Sirus (The brightest star) , Alpha Centuri (our nearest visible star bar the Sun)and the Orion Nebula.
We will probably even pick up a few new club members from the evening !
Thanks also to GAA members Eleonore and Tom for their help.
I look forward to the 2009 event, and I expect given the success we had, GAA will do a few more of these nights between now and then !